


my day is filled with you

by destinyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, this fic can also be titled 'chanyeol tries to impress jongdae repeatedly to get praise'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 15:48:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18528178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destinyeol/pseuds/destinyeol
Summary: After Chanyeol gets his new job at a café, he falls in love with his boss, who's probably the nicest human that has ever existed, and likes to make everyone feel like they're his whole world. Chanyeol kind of wants to be his whole world now.





	my day is filled with you

**Author's Note:**

> the ambience for this fic is heavily inspired by  coffee friends!!!! if you've never watched the show pls do. and if you can't watch the whole show then at least  sehun's episode!!  ;_; so good and wholesome. anyways

Kindest _coffee in town! Everyone is welcomed!_

“ _Kindest_ coffee?” Chanyeol asks with a laugh.

For a first day at work, he’s not half as intimidated as he should be. Somehow he had gotten the job, and now he was here. One of the workers had been the first one to welcome him, so he wasn’t as tense as, say, if his new boss was the first one to receive him.

“Ah, that’s because Jongdae is the kindest person ever. I came up with it,” Sehun, the worker in question, smiles at him. “You’ll see. He’s always nice and kind. And everyone comes here because he treats everyone like they’re his entire world or something. He’s good at it!”

“I see,” Chanyeol puts on his new apron. Working at a café was a very good idea. He figured, balancing out his studies with a job here would be something new and a great way to spend his time. “He must be really nice.”

“Yeah, you’ll love him. I have never met anyone who _hasn’t_ loved Jongdae,” Sehun is still smiling happily. He adjusts Chanyeol’s apron and nods approvingly once he looks at him. “Wow, look at you. Welcome to our family.”

Chanyeol smiles and nods. That’s _cute._ This entire place was so cute — he’s surprised he’s as calm as he is. In past jobs, the ambience had always intimidated him: always a cold place, even if he worked as a part-timer in offices, the small time he spent there made him feel as uncomfortable as ever. Not here, though. Chanyeol feels welcomed by the seat arrangements, by the sun calmly entering through the windows, and the open counters. It _felt_ friendly already.

And this Jongdae person, who Chanyeol assumes is the boss, sounded nice. For the descriptions he got, maybe he was an extremely kind old man — it sure sounded like it! With the amount of kindness he had, he probably was really old and willing to take workers as young as them. It made sense.

“So right now it’s just you and me,” Sehun explains as he turns around. “But we’re a lot more of part timers, since it’s always busy. Jongin isn’t here yet, Kyungsoo gets here in like two hours, and Yixing will probably arrive with Jongdae. They live near each other.”

“Oh. That’s a lot of people.”

Sehun laughs, “Could you believe we _still_ were short on staff? Now with you added, I think we’ll do well.”

“I’ll do my best,” Chanyeol already promises, even though he was planning on saving his _I’ll do my best_ speech to his new boss and not Sehun.

Sehun moves on from that, and starts showing him around. There’s not much to show because everything is on plain sight — but Sehun still goes through it, tells him which tables are which numbers, and shows him the kitchen in the back. He learns to turn on the stove, how the coffee machine works, and then he gets shown the dishwashing room.

“It’s not the biggest place ever, so don’t stress too much,” Sehun says. “We do things very happily here.”

“Aw, I like that. I—”

He gets interrupted by the door opening and multiple people walking in at once. Chanyeol tilts his head — they must be the other employees. The three people are all around the same age and definitely near Chanyeol’s age, so their boss was probably very late.

“Oh, hi, boss,” Sehun greets, and Chanyeol whips his head around immediately to try and decipher which one it was.

“Told you to not call me that!” says one of them, and — Jesus _Christ_ that wasn’t an old man.

No, he was probably world’s prettiest human. Slightly wavy hair and the _best_ smile Chanyeol’s ever seen, with the cutest blue sweater in the world, Chanyeol could not believe this man was supposed to be his boss. No wonder everyone came back to the café… if he was greeted by that smile too, Chanyeol would use all his spendings here every day.

“Hello,” Chanyeol stumbles his words out, bowing a little and extending his hand. Jongdae takes it, and it’s warm and _ohh my God_. “I’m Chanyeol. We talked on the phone?”

“Chanyeol!” Jongdae smiles brightly, and it’s like the sun started shining brighter. Chanyeol feels like doing his longest _I’ll do my best_ speech. “So great to meet you! I’m sorry I’m slightly late, there was some traffic, but we’re all here now! You’ve met Sehun, right?”

“I already showed him everything,” Sehun says. “You can relax.”

Jongdae directs his sunshine-y smile at Sehun and puts a hand on his chest. “You did? Sehunnie, you’re the best! Ah, you’ve grown up so much already. You’re not the rookie anymore.”

“I’ve graduated!”

Jongdae laughs, and then he turns to Chanyeol again. It’s a little overwhelming. How was he supposed to work with _this_ attention on him? Jongdae was staring at him with sparkly eyes. This is what Sehun meant by _treating everyone like they were his entire world_. He got it now.

“Okay, so, I’m Jongdae,” he points at himself, “this is Jongin.”

Jongin raises his hand. The kid is cute, wearing a brown hoodie with the hood up, and his hood seemed to have bear ears on them. His round specs made him look cuter.

“Hi,” he smiles, “welcome to our family!”

Cute. This really was a family.

“And this is Yixing,” Jongdae gestures at him, who immediately comes forward to greet Chanyeol too.

“I look forward to working with you,” Yixing says with a smile. Chanyeol nods back. How was it that everyone here was nice?

“Kyungsoo gets here after his cooking lessons,” Jongdae continues, “so we’ll introduce you guys later! Now, we should put everything in order and open the place, how does that sound?”

“Great,” Sehun echoes back, monotone.

Jongdae frowns at him for one second before he breaks into a smile again, eyebrows lifting up in somehow a gentle way. Chanyeol had no idea eyebrows could be gentle, but, hey. They were now. “Sehun. Come on, everyone, group cheer!”

Everyone cheers now, and before he knows it everyone takes their designated spots. Sehun stays behind with him, thank God, and he’s smiling again.

“So,” Sehun begins, “how did it feel to be the center of Jongdae’s universe for a minute?”

“He really makes you feel like that,” Chanyeol sounds more amazed than he should, but he can’t help it. His eyes widen as he keeps talking, “Like wow. He was just staring at me like he cared about everything I had to say.”

“And he does,” Sehun confirms happily. “He cares about absolutely everything. Too much of a good person, really. Now come on, work time.”

“Uh… what do _I do_?”

“Dish-washing. It will be fun.”

Chanyeol laughs.

“I’m serious,” Sehun hands him a pair of pink gloves. “You’re our dishwasher until we give you something else to do.”

“Oh.”

“Discouraged already?”

“ _Never_ ,” Chanyeol grabs the gloves from Sehun like he just got challenged. “I’ll be the very best dishwasher, you’ll see.”

 

Sehun was right.

He really was there to do the dishes until he got something else assigned to him. He stretches his back a few times, cracks his knuckles, and one of those times Jongdae walks into the room.

Chanyeol almost drops a plate.

“Oh! Did I scare you?” Jongdae laughs, putting his hand on his arm for a second and then leaning up again. Chanyeol’s heart goes up a little. “I just came to check in how you’re doing! Are you having fun?”

“Yeah, lots,” Chanyeol moves a little so Jongdae can have a look at the pile of plates. He could do better, there was probably some technique to be the best at washing dishes out there, and Chanyeol _was_ going to learn it. “It’s not tiring at all. I have lots of energy.”

“Ah, that’s amazing!” Jongdae pats him on his shoulder, and oh, Chanyeol’s heart leaps again. “You’re so good at this. Loving your energy!”

Chanyeol laughs a little, feeling extremely shy out of the sudden. Was it him or did the dishwashing room get a little warmer? Jongdae is still beaming at him, so he can’t help but beam back.

“Thank you,” Chanyeol says, “If you need me to do anything at all I’m absolutely up to learning and trying my best, boss.”

“Chanyeol, you don’t need to call me boss! We’re a family here,” Jongdae grins at him. The corners of his mouth tilt up in the cutest way. Chanyeol really needs some fresh air now. “Seriously, you’re doing a great job. These plates are being washed with the best passion! Good job!”

Chanyeol laughs shyly again. _Stop_. What’s happening to him?

“I’ll come back later,” Jongdae says, “but keep up the good job, okay? You’re great!”

“Sure thing, boss,” he jokes, and it makes Jongdae laugh. What a beautiful sound.

He stares at the door where Jongdae went out from for a bit, and a smile forms without him knowing. He giggles a bit.

“He said I’m good at this,” Chanyeol says to absolutely no one but himself. Just then, Sehun walks in with dishes on his arms, and Chanyeol accepts them happily. “Sehun, Jongdae just came by and he said I’m doing a good job.”

Sehun looks at the pile behind him and then at Chanyeol. “Yeah, you’re doing good.”

“Jongdae said he liked my energy, too. I can’t believe that!”

“Told you he was the nicest,” Sehun smiles, “Have fun, okay?”

Oh, he _will_. He’ll have the most fun anyone’s ever had doing dishes.

 

Turns out Jongdae’s niceness knows no end. Around fifteen minutes later, he walks in again to make Chanyeol drink while he’s doing the dishes. He has to stand on his tippy toes to reach Chanyeol’s height, and Chanyeol has never felt as flustered as he was when he was drinking what Jongdae brought him.

“Good job,” Jongdae tells him when he finishes the dish, holding the juice in his hands. Was he ever not smiling? “Come outside! Say hi to clients! Kyungsoo is about to come anytime now, so you should be outside now!”

Chanyeol is a little too flustered. So much praise. He follows Jongdae out of the room and _God_ , the vibe in this place is so nice. Jongdae tugs at his arm to follow him, and he greets college students, families, tourists…

“Aren’t all the people nice here?” Jongdae asks him. “I don’t know how this place got popular, but I’m very happy with it. I want to keep meeting people every day!”

That is _pure_. Chanyeol decides he’d do anything for Jongdae right then.

“They are,” Chanyeol smiles. “I’m very happy to be working here, and it’s barely my first day. I just feel very welcomed.”

“That’s exactly what we want people to feel like here. I’m glad it’s working!” The door opens and Jongdae’s smile widens even _more._ “Hi! Welcome! You can sit over here — Chanyeol, do you want to take their order?”

“Absolutely!”

Jongdae claps happily and hands him a notepad and a pen. “Do well!”

Oh, Chanyeol was going to make the _best_ order in his life. He could _never_ disappoint Jongdae.

Once he brings the order to Jongdae, who went back to cooking, he gets praised again. “Great job, Chanyeol! You really are proving yourself!”

Chanyeol is _buzzing_ with energy. The smile on his face is impossible to wipe off. Jongin laughs a bit when he sees him.

“You’re like a puppy,” Jongin is laughing while he says that, like it’s the funniest thing in the world. “You look like someone just called you a good boy.”

It’s too early on their friendship to tell Jongin to shut up, so he just nods, embarrassed, and goes back to work.

 

Chanyeol is absolutely _wiped out_ by the time the shift ends. He’s about to pass out on the table, which is something extremely funny to Kyungsoo, the guy he met today.

“You’ll get used to it,” Kyungsoo tells him as he puts a plate of food in front of him.

They’re all sitting down in one of the tables, ready to have a good meal cooked by, of course, Jongdae, who sits down next to Chanyeol on the table, so now he’s going to pretend like he’s not passing out.

His whole upper body is still resting on the table, though, so he is extremely startled when Jongdae puts a hand on his back and rubs it. “Everyone, let’s give Chanyeol a round of applause. He did well on his first day!”

Chanyeol sits up and sees everyone clapping happily, and it does _wonders_ to his ego, even if it makes him flustered as hell. He hides his face for a second before taking it out again.

“I’m really glad you joined us,” Jongdae continues, because he can’t stop being nice for one second. “I feel like our family got warmer! Don’t you all agree?”

“You’re being too nice again,” Kyungsoo says. “Look at Chanyeol. He’s about to die.”

Jongdae looks at him and then laughs. “Oh, you’re very red! It’s okay, Chanyeol, I’m very proud of you. Keep up the good work, okay?”

As if Chanyeol isn’t going to try his best every day starting from now.

He goes back at home with the most satisfying feeling in the world - it fills him up from head to toes, and as he readies his bag for tomorrow morning’s classes, he shocks himself by how much _energy_ he finds himself having for tomorrow.

He thinks about everyone who he met today - Sehun, Jongin, Yixing, Kyungsoo. _Jongdae_. The smile is literally involuntary - he just had that effect on people.

Being the center of his universe every time they talk felt _nice_. Chanyeol wanted that more.

Time to be the best part timer that has ever existed, then.

 

**☆**

Chanyeol finds it that he loves being praised by Jongdae more than he loves the praise from his other co-workers, and it starts to show. He blames it on the fact that he likes to hear about how much of a good job he’s doing, and then again, _who_ doesn’t? Everyone likes knowing they’re good at their job.

It starts with doing more around the café. Serving people at top speed, despite having a few clumsy accidents, then it continues with trying to clean up every tiny mess, and then it turns into him actively participating in their meetings.

“We could add condensed milk,” Chanyeol says like he has any idea of what he’s saying in their meeting, but everyone had put their part and Chanyeol needed to do his, too. “It could balance out the bitterness from the coffee.”

And there it is again: Jongdae’s eyes focusing on him, lips tilting up and shoulders going up, _always_ the loveliest reaction in the world.

“Condensed milk,” Jongdae repeats with wonder and amazement in his tone. He flops back on his chair, spreading his arms to the side. “Woah. Everyone, don’t you all agree that was a good idea?”

“I like it,” Yixing agrees. “Also it’s something new… we haven’t ever use condensed milk before. It shows we’re always improving and working hard.”

Kyungsoo hums. “It also would save us from using too much sugar. Save us more money.”

Jongin giggles happily as he says, “I just like condensed milk.”

“Me too,” Sehun adds, “It’s gonna be delicious to drink it during work.”

“During _work_?” Jongdae asks.

“Who said that,” Sehun quickly turns his back on Jongdae to face Chanyeol. “Great idea, Chanyeol.”

“Ah, thank you…” Chanyeol should stop getting so flustered and instead get used at the amount of praise. “I hope it tastes as good as I think.”

“We should get to make it, then!” Jongdae excitedly stands up, finishing their improvised meeting. “Chanyeol, come with me!”

Oh my _God_. More time with Jongdae. He kind of wants to be doing the dishes now. He follows Jongdae to the counter, both excited and extremely nervous as he starts making the drink.

“You can add as much condensed milk as you think it works,” Jongdae instructs him, and Chanyeol feels incredibly nervous at the gentlest tone and sweetest voice ever expecting him to do something. “Remember we are experimenting. Don’t feel pressured.”

Chanyeol lets it pour for as long as he thinks is good, and then Jongdae finishes it up, stirring it well and adding all the details that Chanyeol _should_ be memorizing for when it’s his turn to make the drink but is too distracted by how pretty Jongdae can be. Wait, what?

He takes a sip of it with his eyes closed and when he opens them again, Chanyeol _swears_ there are fireworks exploding inside them. He makes a delighted noise and hands the drink to Chanyeol: “Try it! Try it!”

So Chanyeol does, and, oh _wow_. That’s _delicious._ He’s surprised it’s his idea that tastes like this, as he has absolutely no experience with drinks and kind of said whatever came to mind, but this was _perfect_. He gets beyond surprised when Jongdae squeezes him briefly in his arms, before he grabs the drink again and tries to make everyone to drink it.

Chanyeol hears few comments about what a good idea he had, and how good it tastes, but his mind keeps flashing back to the tiny hug - energetic and warm, and basically a hug Chanyeol would love to repeat again and again. Jongdae fit perfectly against his chest, and — **_stop._** Where are these thoughts coming from? He pats his cheeks once, twice, and tells himself to get it together.

However, when Jongdae smiles at him and gives him a thumbs up when they lock eyes, Chanyeol’s heart is ready to go into cardiac arrest. He flushes a bit, smiles back, and hurries to make way to the dishwashing room.

He runs his hand through his hair. My _God_.

What is _happening_?

He has a vague idea, of course, but not like he wants to admit it. Chanyeol cups his own face, feeling the way his cheeks were still flushed, and sighs. It must be the thrill of wanting to do well, the thrill of knowing you’ve made someone proud.

Chanyeol wants to make Jongdae proud again. He wants to see his eyes sparkling, his smile, and maybe even get a hug again.

 

**☆**

Making Jongdae proud is something that’s easy to achieve, but that doesn’t _mean_ Chanyeol doesn’t want to go above and beyond to get the proudest grins, the best praise, and the best attention.

The only problem is that as much as Chanyeol is ambitious, has the best intentions, and the best passion, he is _quite_ the clumsy person. He’s equally passionate as he is clumsy. He’s a bit clumsy and thinks a bit too much of his feelings without thinking of the consequences sometimes, and it's quite obvious.

“Ah, Chanyeol, _really_ ,” Jongdae has one of his hands with his, holding the cold compress against it. Despite the fact he just got burned, he can’t help but feel warm because of it. Maybe he should stop getting butterflies when he’s dealing with a burn on his hands. “What were you thinking?”

 _I was thinking about making you proud, I guess_ , Chanyeol’s brain supplies unhelpfully. Not like he’s going to tell Jongdae that.

Jongdae isn’t mad, really. He’s frowning, concentrated on Chanyeol’s hand and making sure he’s okay, but overall he’s just _worried_. Chanyeol’s heart leaps a bit inside him — he wanted Jongdae’s attention, but not really for him to get so worried. Maybe he could try other ways than “getting the bread out of the oven without gloves” because that one did _not_ work out.

“I didn’t think I’d need gloves,” Chanyeol says sheepishly. “I forgot.”

“Jesus, Park Chanyeol,” he puts his hand down for a second and stares at him. “You’re something else.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” there it is again, Jongdae’s voice dripping with honey. “These types of things only happen to people as passionate as you and who are so earnest to do their job! I love that, but _please_ try to not get injured again, okay?” He pats his hand a bit, careful to not hurt. “We want to be healthy and good here.”

Chanyeol smiles a bit. “Okay. Okay… sorry, again,” he says.

“What did I say about apologizing?” he replies back, always, _always_ too sweet. Chanyeol feels a little flustered again. “Okay, just keep holding this and you’ll be all good. I’d sit here to hold your hand but I have to keep cooking.”

“No worries,” he hurries to say, “And I’m—”

“Are you going to say you’re sorry for ‘slowing me down’?”

“I… maybe.”

“Chanyeol.”

“Okay, no apologies!”

“When your hand feels a bit better, you can just take orders for today. Sehunnie can go back to dishwashing.”

Sehun groans. “ _Really_? Me again?”

“Chanyeol is injured,” Jongdae explains. “You gotta now.”

For all the act he puts, Sehun is basically vibrating as he waddles back to the dishwashing room. Jongdae nods at both of them and heads back to cooking, leaving him and Sehun there.

“You okay now?” he asks, genuinely concerned.

“Yeah, it’s getting better,” Chanyeol puts it up to prove his point. “Promise I’ll get back here as soon as I can.”

“It’s okay, I like it here!” he pats the counter. “Home sweet home.”

Chanyeol stares at him.

“Stop. I’m gonna be embarrassed.”

He keeps staring.

“ _Stop_!”

He finally cracks up and pats Sehun’s back as he leaves to take some orders.

Jongdae is always keeping an eye on him. When he’s cooking, he looks up in case Chanyeol is trying to do more work than he should, and every time he catches him, he shakes his head almost in disapproval if it weren’t for his smile. He always mouths _‘be careful!’_ and it makes Chanyeol swoon a little.

He’s bare minimum, alright.

Yixing nudges him a bit. “Chanyeol, did the burn hurt that much? You keep staring back.”

“Ah, sorry,” he immediately refocuses, putting his hand in front of him and channeling his energy. “I just got distracted, but now my attention is a hundred percent yours.”

Kyungsoo snorts. “I doubt that.”

“Yeah, Chanyeol,” Jongin adds, “You’re not subtle. This isn’t a big café.”

“What are you all accusing me of?” Chanyeol huffs, immediately grabbing the tray. Table four needed their food _urgently_.

“What are we accusing him of?” asks Yixing, and Chanyeol is glad there’s at least one person not aware yet.

Sehun probably was aware already. Of course he’d be.

“Of course I am,” Sehun says when Chanyeol drops by to feed him and give him his drink. He sips from his straw a bit more, “It’s been a month or something. You keep trying to impress him. Gross, really.”

“Not gross,” Chanyeol defends, “It’s romantic.”

“Sure. If you say so,” Sehun drinks again. “So?”

“So… what?”

“He likes you back yet?”

“I…” Chanyeol purses his lips. “I don’t know. He acts like he’s in love with everyone. I don’t know how differently he’d treat me.”

“Good point.” Sehun hums a little. “Maybe… wait a bit? Compare us or something?”

“Doesn’t really work.”

“Have you _tried_ it?”

“Yeah, and he talks to _dogs_ like he’s in love with them.”

“You’re a puppy anyways, that should be your point of reference,” Sehun only laughs and raises his arm in defense when Chanyeol pretends to hit him. “Well… you know. Good luck with your crush.”

There was really no point in denying it anymore. He sighs. “Thank you.” He pats Sehun’s head for dishwashing encouragement, “I’m gonna need it.”

Sehun smiles at him and goes back to work. Chanyeol should get back to work, too.

He doesn’t get to do his usual job, though, because Jongdae calls him over.

“I could use some extra help chopping up veggies,” he says, gesturing to the spot next to him. There’s not _that_ much space in the kitchen, and Chanyeol isn’t exactly small, but it’s an offer he can’t reject.

“Wanted to keep an eye on you,” Jongdae says. “Needed to make sure my favorite worker didn’t get any further injuries!”

“Favorite?” Chanyeol’s stomach butterflies wake up and start flying, marching, and playing the drums inside him. “I’m your favorite?”

Jongdae doesn’t answer, he just bumps his hip with his own. “Get to work, Chanyeol. We have some stews for table five.”

“I… yes, yes,” he says. His hands are like, okay now. His burn wasn’t that bad, really. What was _really_ bad was having Jongdae so close. “I’ll cut this, of course.”

“...Do you know how to do it?”

“Absolutely. I’m a master in the kitchen, did you know?”

Jongdae’s eyes glint with playfulness. “Sure.”

“I’m just going to…” he grabs a tomato. “Cut this…”

He’s being stared at expectantly, Jongdae’s shit-eating grin spreading through his face.

“In what shapes?”

“Shapes?” Chanyeol’s voice breaks a little, his eyes widening. “Ah, yes, shapes. I knew that.”

“Go on, then. I’m waiting.”

Chanyeol holds the knife. And holds it. Stares at the tomato, stares at the knife. He has no fucking clue what to do.

“Stop laughing,” he says as soon as Jongdae breaks into laughter. Although, Chanyeol can’t hold back his own nervous grin when he says that. “Don’t make me admit it out loud.”

“Why? Is it going to hurt your ego?”

“And _badly_ ,” Chanyeol’s shoulders finally slump, and he leans against the counter on his elbows. “I give up.”

Jongdae bursts out laughing again, hurrying to stand next to Chanyeol and grab his wrist with the knife. “Here, let’s do it together, then you do it. Okay?”

“Okay,” Chanyeol says.

He gives up right then, though, because there’s no way he’ll ever remember how to do anything when Jongdae’s eyelashes look so _pretty_ , when he’s so beautiful from up close, and _wow_ he’s really got a whole crush on him! That’s great! Perfect! Just what he needed!

“...did you get it?” Jongdae finally asks him, looking up. My God. So pretty.

“Yeah,” Chanyeol says, because he kind of did. Maybe if he screws up enough, Jongdae will re-teach him everything just like this.

“Good,” he reaches up and pats Chanyeol’s head. “Let’s get to work!”

He turns his head around briefly to find Jongin smiling devilishly at him. He mouths the word ‘puppy’ and this time, Chanyeol mouths back for him to shut up.

**☆**

**jonginnie**

so!!! chanyeol!!!!!

has your car been fixed yet ʕ•͡ɛ•͡ʼʼʔ

 

This was possibly the worst conversation starter. He _knows_ why Jongin is asking this. Chanyeol’s car broke down a week ago, and once he mentioned he might be a little late coming from university to his job, Jongdae had immediately offered to pick him up and bring him to work.

“You don’t have to, really,” Chanyeol had said at first. “I can get by on bus.”

“It’s okay!” Jongdae had promised, excited, “We’re gonna have fun!”

He didn’t even need to say anything else, he had just stared at Chanyeol with stars in his eyes and it had been his doom.

As if he needed _any_ more excuses to be more into Jongdae, the quality alone time they spent on the car ride was about to make Chanyeol scream very, very loudly, and also made him try to do more than he could at work so he could get some head pats. Sue him.

 

**me**

….no

...why?

 

**sehunnie**

just in case your car is broken for real or you just still wanna see jongdae

 

**jonginnie**

yeah!! ʢᵕᴗᵕʡ

that’s gonna be expected from you

 

**kyungsoo**

i swear if i have to see chanyeol wag his tail one more time after he gets down from the car with jongdae…

sickening. absolutely sickening

 

**yixing**

i think it’s cute!!!

chanyeollie just likes praise, right? we should all aim to work this hard and please our boss and customers :)

 

**sehunnie**

we should, yeah

but chanyeol just likes jongdae’s praise

 

**jonginnie**

because he’s in love ʕ´•ᴥ•`ʔ

no wait

wrong bearmoji

ʕ♡˙ᴥ˙♡ʔ

 

**me**

i think it’s a talent that you have that many bearmojis

BUT I’M NOT IN L***

DON’T SAY THAT

 

**kyungsoo**

sure

who’s gonna tell him?

 

**yixing**

WHAT

are you really in love with jongdae? WHAA

 

**me**

I’M NOT

**yixing**

bro that’s so amazing

i’m rooting for you

oh my gosh you’re stuck on a car with him every day HAA

good LUCK

 

**sehunnie**

thank you for joining the party yixing!! ヾ(ﾟΘﾟ )ヾ

 

**me**

off topic but where do you get the animal emojis from

 

**kyungsoo**

do you want a dog one?

 

**me**

nevermind

 

**jonginnie**

maybe one day he’ll accept being a dog

and also being in love HAHAHA we’ll be patient ʕ•͡દ•ʔ

 

Chanyeol’s had it of them. That’s what he says, really, but he only puts his phone away because Jongdae stops his car in front of him, telling him to hop in.

The good thing about Jongdae is that, no matter how much Chanyeol thinks about how he’d love to hold his hand and make him laugh, he’s never overly aware of his feelings if he’s with him. It sounds hypocritical, but the moment he starts talking to Jongdae, it’s like everything fades away.

Jongdae is just a good talker, and a good listener, and a good Chanyeol’s love of his life, but he didn’t have to know that last one.

“How was class today?” he asks Chanyeol, and Chanyeol _knows_ he genuinely means it. He wants to hear about Chanyeol’s music lessons, for some reason, and he’s way too grateful to talk about them, so he just latches onto the topic.

This week of Chanyeol’s car being broken down made him realize Jongdae really, really loves music. He probably loves music as much as Chanyeol does, which is weird, because he’d expect him to be following the same path as him — they’re the same age, so they’d have to be studying together the same subjects right now.

“I think,” Jongdae starts explaining once Chanyeol asks him about it, “I like it more as a hobby.”

“Wouldn’t you like to deepen your hobby, though?”

“Don’t think so,” he turns around to give him a brief look, like to emphasize his point. “This is where I’m the happiest. Right now, I think, meeting new people every day, getting to be a part of people’s lives, forming new bonds… getting to see people smiling… I think this is what I want to be doing. Music is fun, but I love doing this best.”

In a heartbeat, Chanyeol is opening his bag and looking for his notebook and a pen, frantically opening it and jotting down ideas.

Jongdae laughs. “What, did that inspire you?”

Chanyeol looks up, absolutely excited. “It did!”

It inspires him about _some_ type of song. It creates a small story in his head, and he knows he wants the focus to be about fulfillment, so he just keeps jotting down whatever emotions he feels and attempts at writing any lyric that comes to mind.

“Park Chanyeol!” Jongdae exclaims, briefly hitting him on his shoulder, “I _better_ sing that.”

“W-would you do that?” Chanyeol looks up immediately, eyes shining, “Jongdae, are you a singer?”

“I’m joking, I’m joking, calm down! But I do like singing. Don’t know if it means I’m good or not.”

He sighs exasperatedly, “I _bet_ you are.”

“Guess you’ll find out one day,” Jongdae smiles at him, and Chanyeol keeps writing until they reach the café.

Chanyeol hops down from the car, absolutely excited, and once Jongdae is out of the car, he wastes no time to give him a hug.

Jongdae does his best to hug him back when Chanyeol is considerably taller and heavier, but Chanyeol can’t complain at all.

“Thank you, thank you!” Chanyeol moves them around a little in their hug, and the delighted laughs from Jongdae are truly music from his ears. “I swear, I don’t know how you did it — but like, I’ve been _super_ stressed about this song project. I couldn’t come up with anything. And now I _have_.”

They stop swinging around, so Chanyeol ends up with Jongdae in his arms, staring down at him. Jongdae’s arms are also around his waist, and wow, Chanyeol suddenly realizes he’s holding the fucking _sun_.

“You owe me your grade,” Jongdae says, cheekily.

Chanyeol should probably let him go. Jongdae hasn’t dropped his hands either, so, Chanyeol doesn’t want to. He’s _comfortable_. Jongdae fits here perfectly.

“What should I do if I pass with a good grade?” Chanyeol asks, and, _oh my God_ that’s a lot bolder than he expected it to sound.

He doesn’t get an answer, though, because they both hear the café opening up and see Sehun coming out of the place.

“You guys gonna be there all day or—” Sehun says. “Oh. Did I interrupt something?”

Jongdae drops his arms in the most natural way, while Chanyeol feels like hiding his arms behind his back immediately. He tries to play it cool, so he just shakes his head, but probably shakes it one too many times.

“Chanyeol will pass his project with flying colors,” Jongdae explains enthusiastically. “Let’s all do a good work today to celebrate this, okay?”

Sehun still looks at them suspiciously, but nods nonetheless. Chanyeol still hasn’t said anything, so he moves past them and darts straight for the dishwashing room. _His_ place now.

 

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae calls sweetly once they’re done working.

Everyone’s gone home, except both of them. He’s starting to have a strange hopeful thought, that perhaps Jongdae purposefully decided to stay behind to wait for him, but that’s a bit too dumb — even for his own standards.

Jongdae looks tired. He has the sleepiest smile in the world, and he looks ten times softer, and Chanyeol’s heart does nothing else but squeeze inside his chest. He’s so beautiful. He likes Jongdae. He likes Jongdae _so_ much.

“Yes?”

“Wanna go home with me and go over your project?” Jongdae offers, and, wow. He’s so cute. He breathes one more time and Chanyeol might end up confessing. “Maybe today is your lucky ‘hearing-my-singing-voice’ day.”

Briefly, Chanyeol remembers that his original plans were to go back home, go over project, absolutely pass out until his alarm rang again, and then plan for his next day.

He immediately throws that thought of the window, every last bit of tiredness leaving his body. “Absolutely.”

Jongdae looks as if that answer was just what he needed to hear, because in the same way as Chanyeol, all the tiredness starts leaving him.

 

Chanyeol does get to hear Jongdae’s singing voice.

He sings softly, in the quiet of the night, going over Chanyeol’s attempted lyrics.

Chanyeol likes him _so_ much.

**☆**

Chanyeol _might_ be a little too hopeful and a little too optimistic, but he _swears_ there is a slight dynamic change in his friendship with Jongdae, and it leaves him both terrified and breathless.

Jongdae slides next to him when he’s making a drink. His arms somehow find Chanyeol’s waist, like they seem to do lately, and his cheek ends up against Chanyeol’s arm, pressing.

“Having fun?”

Maybe passing time together at night, going over lyrics, and being a lot more touchy when they’re sleepy meant that Jongdae would be normally touchy with him now. And it’s fine, really, Jongdae’s _always_ like this to everyone. Jongin gets hugs, Sehun gets hugs, Yixing gets hugs, Kyungsoo gets hugs… Chanyeol gets this hold onto his waist, his arm being held by Jongdae while they’re standing, his chin resting as best as it can on his shoulder.

But that was normal.

It had to be.

“Yeah, today’s quite a slow day,” Chanyeol replies back, not intending to sound like he’s laughing, but that’s just how he sounds like when he’s nervous. Jongdae’s very close. “Are _you_ having fun?”

“Always having fun when you’re around,” Jongdae pats him twice and lets him go, and Chanyeol is way too flustered to react.

Jongdae leaves him at that, hurrying to make french toasts, but Chanyeol stares at the coffee he just made in utter disbelief. What was _happening_?

“This is a work zone,” Kyungsoo snaps him out of his daze with a gentle yet amused tone. “Not a place for lovebirds to flirt.”

“Not— not lovebirds,” Chanyeol complains to no avail, because Kyungsoo just stares at him like saying, _Really? You’re gonna say that?_ “Yeah. I said what I said.”

Completely going over him and his lame attempts at lying, Kyungsoo says, “Your client at table three has been waiting for years her coffee, Chanyeol.”

“Oh, God, sorry!”

Once he delivers the coffee, as he turns back, he finds Jongdae staring at him with a fond smile. He returns the smile. Jongdae mouths _good job!_ and for some reason, today’s sound softer than all the other ones.

It’s driving him crazy.

Even when they have dinner in the café now, Jongdae sits next to him, head resting on his shoulder once he’s done eating. Chanyeol isn’t as wiped out as he used to be when he first started, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t act like it to lean back onto Jongdae, head resting on his.

Yixing, the one person who he trusts to not get like his other friends, is the first one to make a shocked expression at them. Jongdae is busy talking to Jongin, so he doesn’t notice, but Yixing is just pointing at him and at Jongdae’s head, and silently gasping.

Guess you can’t trust your friends, _ever_.

Again, everyone slowly leaves, until it’s just Jongdae and Chanyeol, sitting close together and resting their heads on the other. Jongdae’s hand ends on his thigh, and _God_ , so warm. Chanyeol lets it pass because they’re both tired.

“Take me to my car,” Jongdae says, stretching a bit, stifling a yawn after it. “Pick me up.”

“I could pick you up,” Chanyeol says, already extending his arms. “You’re tiny.”

Jongdae’s expression turns offended. “I’m — I’m _average height_. You’re just a _tower_. Shut up.”

Chanyeol reaches out to tickle him, causing him to drop his offended act and melt entirely. Softly, Chanyeol tugs at him to stand up, and they both walk out. Jongdae lets go of him so Chanyeol can close the café, and once he does, he turns back around to find Jongdae smiling at him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he simply smiles more. “Hey, Chanyeol.”

For some reason, Chanyeol starts noticing his surroundings. In front of the café, once all the lights are turned off, the moon is the only source of light. It shines down on them, gently, and there aren’t many noises. It’s a quiet, calm night.

Maybe that’s why Chanyeol’s heart beats so loudly when Jongdae steps closer, taking his hands in his.

“W...what?” Chanyeol asks, dumbly. A lot is happening. If they keep holding hands, he’s gonna _sweat—_

“Can I kiss you?”

Oh he’s sweating.

“Y-yes,” he says before he forgets to answer, like an idiot.

Jongdae looks super pleased. He’s sporting his sweetest smile, the one Chanyeol sees countless times, but this time directed at him and him only. He lets go of his hands to cup his face, leaning up with his eyes closed, and _wow_ this is happening, huh?

When he finally processes that, Jongdae presses his lips against his. It’s so _soft_ , exactly what he expected it to be like to kiss him. Chanyeol might be dumb but he’s not an _idiot_ , so he leans down a bit and kisses back.

He can’t help the small pause to smile, to hold his waist and to take in the moment. Jongdae’s smile is a million times softer now.

“Too short,” Chanyeol says, leaning down again to kiss him.

It just _feels_ nice — it feels like something he should’ve done a long, long time ago. It’s incredibly joy-filling to kiss Jongdae, to feel his lips move against his, to part for a second only to kiss him back again.

It feels like ages when he actually manages to stop kissing him.

“Thank you,” Chanyeol finds himself saying for some reason.

“...For kissing you?” Jongdae snorts a bit. “You’re so silly.”

Chanyeol laughs, and somehow that gets him another kiss.

Jongdae lets him go, even though Chanyeol would love to keep holding him the entire night.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Jongdae smiles at him. “Don’t come to work late.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

He gets in his own car and waves at Chanyeol as he leaves.

Chanyeol gets inside his car, sits down, stares at the wheel… and lets his face go completely red, hitting his head against the wheel, and absolutely dies inside.

 

“ _Why_ are you so jumpy?” Kyungsoo asks him the next day, after his third time jumping once someone taps his shoulder and almost dropping his mug. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, uh, didn’t sleep well,” Chanyeol lies straight through his teeth.

He did sleep. Had many dreams involving Jongdae.

“Ah, I see,” Kyungsoo replies, a bit concerned now. “I have some teas that help sleeping if you need some?”

“I’ll make sure to give it to him, Soo,” Jongdae chimes in, “Leave them in my coat’s pocket!”

Kyungsoo nods,  as Chanyeol thanks him profusely and wonders how to tell him that he’s not actually having issues sleeping. Jongdae comes up again, hugging him from behind and attempting to walk towards the front counter like that, much to Jongin’s amusement from his spot.

“I think you’re jumpy for other reasons,” he teases, laughing, and it’s so pure with no malice that Chanyeol can’t get mad.

“Maybe,” Chanyeol says. “Maybe we should get back to work?”

“You’re telling me or asking me?”

“Telling you. Of course.”

He pats him before he lets him go, and Chanyeol is way too warm right now. He feels like removing all his layers and stay shirtless, see if that helps him cool down.

Jongin is still smiling once he makes eye contact with him. “You guys are cute.”

Well — no way he found out about their kiss, right? Right? Not like Jongdae told him. No. If they had talked about it, Jongin would’ve texted the group chat already, and—

“Chanyeol, stop zoning out,” Jongin jokes, although he sounds a little worried. “I’m just joking.”

“Sorry, I’m still jumpy,” Chanyeol explains. Just then, a client walks in, so Chanyeol immediately grabs the notes and a pen. “Welcome!”

He hurries to seat them and attempt to take their order, and he _swears_ he can hear Jongdae laughing a bit at him. Rude.

 

“Chanyeol,” Jongdae calls sweetly once it’s just the two of them again.

“Jongdae,” he tries to act calm, and yet the second thing he says is: “Why did you kiss me?”

Jongdae throws his arms down in fake frustration. “Way to ruin my surprise. I was about to confess! Seriously, Chanyeol!”

“Confess? _Confess_?” Chanyeol’s voice breaks a little. He points at himself, “ _Me_?”

“You!” Jongdae grabs his hand and sits him down at one of the tables. He doesn’t let go of his hand. “I really like you a lot, Chanyeol. I’m actually surprised that you didn’t notice — I treat you so _nicely_.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen. “You treat me so nicely? You treat _everyone_ like you’re in love with them!” he pouts. “It’s — it’s hard to tell, okay!”

Jongdae pauses. “That might be true, actually. I’m sorry. I forgot I do that.”

“It’s okay,” they both share a laugh. “So… oh— oh, you _like_ me.”

“Yes. I just said that.”

“You _like_ like me.”

Jongdae starts to crack up again, his head falling briefly. “Do you need a second, Chanyeollie?”

“Don’t _call_ me that — you want me to combust?” Chanyeol is _frantic_. “I’m dealing with this step by step. You really like me? How?”

“When I saw you, I thought you were really pretty. Prettiest guy I’ve ever seen.” Jongdae pauses to look at him. “Oh, your eyes are shining — this is feeding your ego, isn’t it?”

“You bet it is.”

Jongdae sighs. “Anyways… I think you just warmed into my heart, somehow. You were cute, and you were clumsy, and you tried _so_ hard to impress me. You sought for me, constantly was by my side, _even_ if I was really busy in the kitchen!” Jongdae somehow looks even fonder describing that. Chanyeol can’t believe it was because of him. “And then we started to come to work together. And then we started to work on _songs_ together, and reviving my love for music… it might’ve reaffirmed my feelings for you even more. It took me a while to get here, but here I am, and I think you might like me too.”

Chanyeol blinks at him.

It’s wild that someone feels that way about him, that someone has _had_ this many thoughts of him. Even more so Jongdae, who Chanyeol has been having all the flowery thoughts and sappy moments for. It’s a little too good to be true, but it’s happening, because Jongdae waves his hands in front of him.

“Oh my _God_ , I’m so bad at this,” Chanyeol rubs his eyes. “I just can’t believe this is happening. I — I like you? A lot? A whole lot? I think you’re cute. I think I was attracted to you first because of all the praise and niceness, but then I fell for you being _you_ , and now I feel like I really, really like you _so much_ and my friends can’t stop teasing me about it, and I can’t stop thinking about kissing you again so yeah, I like you too.”

“You should kiss me, then.”

“That’s all you got from that?”

“No, no. I got everything. I just think you should kiss me, that’s all!”

“What about _my_ heartfelt confession — why are you _not_ freaking out?”

“It was kind of obvious, Chanyeol. Now you should kiss me.”

Chanyeol finally gives in, leaning over the table a bit and pressing his lips against Jongdae’s for a short kiss. Jongdae pouts. “That’s too short.”

“I’m saving it for a goodbye kiss,” Chanyeol says, standing up and walking over to Jongdae’s side to tug him up. “Once we get to your car, I’ll give you a longer kiss.”

“Mean,” he replies, but still locks his arm with Chanyeol’s on their way out. It’s warm. Chanyeol can get used to this, definitely. “Hey… Can I go to your place so we can keep working on the song?”

“Working on the song?” Chanyeol smirks a little. “Doesn’t sound like you want to do that.”

Jongdae hits his arm. “No! Not about that!” he huffs. “Just, maybe, spend more time with my boyfriend as we work on our song?”

“B-boyfriend?” Chanyeol’s eyes brighten up immensely. “I’m your boyfriend?”

“You are!”

Chanyeol _feels_ the stupid, lovesick smile forming. He can’t stop it. He holds Jongdae now, hands wrapped around his waist, and swings them from side to side.

“Where’s my kiss, then, boyfriend?” Jongdae asks him, hands coming to rest on his chest.

“Thought we agreed on a goodbye kiss. We’re not saying goodbye until _much_ later.”

“Think about this, okay,” to be honest, Chanyeol was going to kiss him anyways, but Jongdae is now too excited about explaining his reasoning. He’s adorable. “It’s a goodbye kiss because we’re saying goodbye to my car, and I’m saying goodbye to my café. Isn’t that a good reason?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Chanyeol. Kiss me.”

So Chanyeol does, and Jongdae wraps his arms around his neck, kissing him with more intent and more passion, and— Chanyeol _will_ get used to this.

**☆**

**me**

[attachment: 1 pic]

guess who’s dating now

**jonginnie**

AAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

WE DID IT ʕథ౪థʔ

 

**sehunnie**

⋋(‘Θ’◍)⋌ :.。✯*

(that’s a baby chick celebrating)

congrats!!!! you finally made it ♥

 

**jonginnie**

NOW WE JUST NEED TO LET HIM ADMIT HE’S A PUPPY

AAAAAAAAAAAA

 

**kyungsoo**

congrats you guys!! ♥ ♥ hopefully we will get less chanyeol trying to be gross on the café now ♥

 

**sehunnie**

i think it’s gonna be worse

jk i’m happy for you two be sappy all you want

 

**yixing**

well done bro!!!!

love u guys so much

if u need help with the song remember to let me know!!

 

“They’re so cute,” Jongdae giggles at the phone.

They’re supposed to be composing, technically. Chanyeol is sitting in front of his keyboard, and his laptop is opened, so technically they should be composing.

Except that Jongdae is sitting on his lap and Chanyeol has him wrapped in a backhug, chin resting on his shoulder, reading his phone with him.

“They’re cutely annoying,” Chanyeol agrees. “You’re cute.”

Jongdae fakes shoving him off. “Stop. Are you this cheesy in relationships?”

Chanyeol nuzzles his cheek a little, “Do you _want_ me to be this cheesy?”

“I don’t mind it. I think I even like it. Whatever makes you happy.”

“ _You_ make me happy.”

“Oh my God — this is — _you’re so cheesy_.”

Chanyeol laughs into his neck, taking an opportunity to plant a kiss there, and yeah, he won’t get anything done tonight.

**☆**

 

After Jongdae rewards him with a kiss on his cheek for a good job, Kyungsoo stares at him.

Sehun and Jongin join in. “Why are we looking at Chanyeol?”

“I wanna know too,” Yixing says, butting in. “Why are we?”

“Look,” Kyungsoo points at Chanyeol, and Chanyeol feels a little naked now. “You can literally see his tail wagging after a kiss. Any more and it’s gonna fall off.”

The four of them laugh like it’s the funniest thing in the world. Jongdae, unexpectedly, pops back into the conversation: “You guys, I get it now. He’s _literally_ like a puppy. Like, I didn’t see it at first, but now that we’re together most of the time, I _do_. He’s a puppy.”

They all look at Chanyeol for a reaction.

“Guess that’s right then. I’m a puppy,” his friends collectively groan. “Jongdae is right.”

Jongdae is the only one giving back the same lovesick smile he wears.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!!!! i apologize for any mistakes ;; lets be friends on [twitter](http://twitter.com/joshriku/)!!


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